Oceans or Ponds
by Willow Edmond
Summary: The call he's been waiting for has finally come. This should be the happiest day of Adam's life, but sometimes things aren't what they seem. Sometimes the easiest choice to make can also be the hardest. (ROH)


**Disclaimer : Adam Cole, Jay Lethal, and various other superstars mentioned/portrayed in this story are the property of the wrestling promotions they work for and/or the actors / sports entertainers / superstars that portray them. This story is intended as tribute only and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights. **

* * *

**Ocean or Pond**

Adam Cole always told everyone that the wrestler who inspired him the most was Shawn Michaels, and he wasn't lying. Michaels was the wrestler he always pictured himself being like when he was younger and professional wrestling was still just a dream. Michaels had the skills and the moves and the charisma all rolled into one package. When Shawn Michaels climbed in the ring, no matter who he was up against, you knew it was going to be a good show.

What he _never_ talked about, was that his second favorite wrestler, when he was younger at least, had been John Cena. Well, maybe at first he did, back in high school with the other kids, because back when he first exploded onto WWF, everyone had liked Cena. Cena was the rebel punk, the white rapper, the guy who had moves with names that were designed to make every school kid laugh, like the "STF" and the "Five Knuckle Shuffle." One of Adam's friends even swore that the whole, "You can't see me!" was a convoluted drug reference, and even though none of their group had ever found a single shred of evidence to support this, it still seemed like it could be completely possible. That was just the kind of guy John Cena had seemed like then.

Of course, later, John Cena became the face of the company, the perpetual boyscout, the good guy extraordinaire and soon it became very uncool to like him, unless you were female or under the age of 12. So, Adam went along with the crowd, never mentioning Cena, except in scorn, with a lot of eye rolling and the obligatory "He's so lame!" remark.

Maybe he really did believe that now. After all, he did find Cena's endless boyscout pandering to be boring. The man did have a gift for speech, but there were only so many times a man could say, "Hustle Loyalty and Respect" or, "Never give up!" without it becoming about as exciting as vanilla pudding. That was becoming a serious issue with Cena, he was _so_ vanilla that when he tried to be edgy, for example, by discussing balls, it came across as weird, like if your grandmother sat down with you and started telling you she had an itch in her nether regions. Cena wasn't the choir boy of the WWE, he was the saint.

But, Adam still had a respect for the man and it wasn't grudging either. When he thought about him, which wasn't too often, he had to admit, the man was on top. It didn't matter that so many fans disliked him. Enough liked him. They may not be very vocal about it, most of them might be young kids, but the man had _power_. He was the face of the WWE. It didn't matter who was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, John Cena was the _real_ top dog and Adam was sure everyone in the locker room knew it.

 _Great,_ Adam thought as he unscrewed the water bottle he was holding listening to the cap separate with a satisfying crack. _Like I don't have enough to think about, my mind has to go to John Cena. Who cares? I've got bigger things to worry about_.

He was sitting outside the ROH Dojo, taking a break. It was close to noon and he'd been here since early this morning, both working out to try to strengthen his arm and shoulder, which was almost healed from the surgery, and helping with some of the new guys. Normally, Adam liked helping the new guys, he could still remember when he was a new guy and how some of the more seasoned members worked with him. And he sure was eager to get his shoulder back to full strength so he could get back into the ring. But today, he couldn't keep focused, today his mind was on Something Else.

"That wall gonna fall if you don't hold it up?" a voice asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Raising his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun, Adam looked up to see Jay Lethal looking down at him. "As a matter of fact, I am," he said, grinning. "I noticed it was leaning a little, so I figured I'd brace it up."

Jay looked at the wall and squinted. "Maybe you're right, it still looks like it's leaning forward a little. Guess I'll help you." He sat down on the grass next to Adam, leaning his own back against the wall. For a few minutes, both men sat there, feeling the warmth of the bricks behind them, that had been getting the morning sun. "Your mind isn't in it today," Jay finally said. It wasn't an accusation, it was a statement.

"Nope," Adam agreed, knowing there was no point in arguing. "Got some other things on my mind."

"Oh?"

Jay's tone was casual, leaving the door open for Adam, without being pushy about it. Adam could tell him what was going on, or he could just say something like "yeah" and that would be that. Jay was one of those guys who was willing to talk, but never too forward about it. Adam appreciated that.

He decided to take Jay up on the invitation to speak. "I got the call," he said, keeping his voice neutral.

Jay turned and looked at him. "Congratulations, bro," he said, grinning. "That's great! When did they call?"

"Thanks," Adam said, smiling himself. "They called this morning. Woke me up, as a matter of fact."

"Yeah, but who cares, right?" Jay joked and they both laughed. "So, when do you leave?" he asked when the laughter had stopped.

"I told them I'd have to get back to them on that," Adam admitted, taking another sip of water from his bottle.

"Makes sense," Jay said, nodding his agreement. "Make sure your doc says you're 100% on the shoulder. Smart."

"It's not just that," Adam admitted. He hesitated, then finally said, "I told them I needed a little time to think about it… if I wanted to go and all."

Jay stared at him, silent for a moment before speaking. "What, are you crazy?" he asked. "C'mon, you got the call! You should be packing and telling everyone here so they can have the party before you go." He shook his head, then tipped it to one side. "Unless they're telling you that you have to try out again. Are they?"

"Nope," Adam shook his head. "The last time I went down for a try out, the only thing standing in my way was my shoulder. Their doctor wouldn't pass me on it. But, since I've fixed that, I'm good to go."

"Well then, what's the problem?" Jay asked, going back to looking at him as if he were crazy. "This is the _big_ time. NXT leads to the WWE. Damn, this is the wrestlers dream and you've been given a pillow and a blanket and a space on the bed. Don't you want this?"

"I do," Adam said, taking another sip of water, then held out the bottle to Jay, who accepted it and took a swallow. While some folks might consider this sharing of water from the same bottle to be off putting, when you were a wrestler, you spent half your time with someone's crotch in your face or your crotch in someone else's face. When that was a typical day in the office, it was hard to get all freaked out over sharing a bottle of water.

"Then why aren't you in there, now, telling them you're leaving?" Lethal asked, handing him back the bottle.

"I don't know," Adam said, which wasn't quite the truth, but wasn't exactly a lie either. It was like his feelings about this were half formed in his mind, there, but not quite. "I'm a little scared," he admitted.

"It's a big step," Lethal agreed. "The system down there is like boot camp. You'll be starting at the bottom, where here you're at the top, it's not going to be easy. No wonder you're nervous."

Adam looked away from Jay, looking up at the sky, where the sun was shining down. He swallowed. "I'm not nervous," he finally said, trying to sound casual. "I'm _scared."_

"Scared of what?" Jay asked, still looking over at him. "Shit, you're a big boy. They'll work you hard down there, but you can handle it. What do you have to be scared of?"

Adam thought for a moment, then blurted it out. "I'm a koi."

"You're what?" Jay's eyes narrowed and he studied him. "You are a lot of things, bro, but I wouldn't exactly describe you as coy."

Adam laughed and shook his head. "No, I'm not saying I _am_ coy, I'm saying I'm _a_ koi. You know, those big fish that look like goldfish on steroids you see in ponds and stuff?"

"Yeah," Jay said, nodding. "Those fancy fish, like they have in those huge tanks at that Chinese restaurant down the street. Is that what you mean?" When Adam nodded his agreement, Jay's expression changed back to one of puzzlement. "You're a fish?"

"Well, kinda," Adam said. "I'm a koi, I'm one of those fancy fish you see in ponds. And ROH is my pond."

"Well, you are pretty," Jay said, chuckling. "Kelly jokes there should be a rule against hitting you in the face."

"Well, there should be," Adam joked back, taking another sip of water, and then offering Jay the rest of the bottle. "But that's not what I meant. You're a koi too. You, me, the Briscos, a few others, we're koi. We all stick out in this pond, we're all someone, because ROH is a pond. It's a big pond and getting bigger every day, but it's still not a lake."

"And WWE is a lake?" Jay asked, when he'd finished draining the bottle of water.

"WWE is a friggin' ocean," Adam said. "And John Cena is a damned whale. Brock Lesnar is a shark. Even Tyler Black, oh excuse me, Seth Rollins, is a whale. Maybe not a Blue Whale like Cena, but a whale none-the-less. So is Moxbrose and Reigns. Hell, Punk was a shark or a whale. Punk might have been a blue whale too. A smaller blue whale than Cena, but a blue whale.

"I think you have a fish obsession," Jay remarked, grinning. He had put the cap back on the bottle and was holding it by the spout, tapping it against his leg.

"No, I don't," Adam disagreed, half wishing he had that bottle so he could fidget with it. "Jay, what chance does a koi have of being noticed in the ocean?"

"Can koi even survive in salt water?" Jay asked.

"No, but that's beside the point-" Adam began.

"See? You knew the answer to that." Jay interrupted. "You know _way_ too much about fish."

Adam chuckled, not really wanting to, but unable to stop himself. "No, I'm serious, Jay. I'm a koi at ROH. I might be the biggest one in the ROH pond, but I'm at least one of the five biggest. I am someone. I've been champion. I'd be champion now if it wasn't for my shoulder."

"Oh really?" Lethal asked, the empty water bottle stilled in his hand as he stared at his friend.

"You know what I mean," Adam said, grinning. "Okay, let's put it this way, if it wasn't for my shoulder, it's likely you and I would have fought for the Championship. If you would have won, like you did against Brisco, is something we'll never know."

"Yes we will," Jay said, sounding 100% sure of himself. " _I_ would have won. You, Brisco, _anyone_ , I would have won." He started tapping the bottle against his leg again and went back to the subject they had been discussing. "So, you're saying you're scared to swim with the big fish at the WWE? Is that what's holding you back?"

"Yeah," Adam sighed. "It's stupid, I know. I'm young and hell, even being a nobody in the WWE can be better than being a somebody for some tiny little promotion. But seriously, I like being one of the big boys. I like that I can come out and not say a word, just drop a microphone, flip someone the bird and walk out of the ring and people talk about it. I mean, let's face it, my ring persona is a whiny, arrogant little bastard, and people _love_ it."

"Because you do it so well," Jay said. "Seriously, if I didn't know you were a nice guy? I'd think that was you being yourself. You just make it so natural."

"You don't do bad yourself," Adam graciously and sincerely offered. "I loved when you went into that whole thing about not taking leftovers from anyone. Especially when you mentioned that you never took Punk's leftovers, but he took yours." He laughed, remembering that comment. "I think that slipped under the radar for most folks, but I was impressed. You went there and you did it great."

Jay grinned. "Yeah, that was good, wasn't it? You know who else thought it was good? Punk."

Adam stared. "Punk? Seriously? _CM Punk_ thought it was good?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, he texted me with 'good one,' right after it aired. Believe it or not, Punk and I are cool. AJ and I are cool. Yeah, we dated, and it was great for awhile, but we weren't meant for each other." He offered up a philosophical shrug. "She and Punk are perfect together and they know it, so they could appreciate it for what it was. A kayfabe dig and a real life gotcha moment."

"Punk always struck me as kind of a prickly SOB," Adam remarked. "I mean, he was gone by the time I got here, but I'd run into him a few times working the circuit."

"Oh yeah," Jay agreed, nodding. "No mistake on that. Even a damned cactus would look at Punk and say, 'Damn, boy, you are one thorny guy!' But, thorns are a defense mechanism. People don't develop thorns unless they've had to protect themselves and Punk has. Don't get me wrong, he can be hard to get along with, but if he comes out and tells you that you're okay, you really feel like you earned something with him. And, by the way, nice try."

"Nice try?"

"Yeah, trying to change the subject, little koi," Jay chuckled. "Wouldn't that make a horrible ring name? Little Koi."

Adam found himself laughing too. "Yeah, it sounds like the kind of name a twelve year old girl who loved anime would give herself as an internet handle."

"Yeah," Jay snorted, still tapping the empty bottle against his leg, but not that frequently. "Still, back to you, Adam Koi. So let's see if I've got this straight, you're worried about being a koi in the ocean known as the WWE."

"Yeah," Adam admitted, eying the bottle, not sure if he wanted Jay to stop tapping it on his leg, or if Adam just wanted the bottle so he could do the same thing. _I wish I'd brought out two bottles of water,_ he thought _, then I'd have my own bottle_.

"Well, you'll be starting at NXT," Jay reminded him. "Not too many whales at NXT. Maybe a few dolphins, but the biggest whale they got now is Steen-now-Owens." The moment the words were out of his mouth, he snorted and so did Adam. "Okay, bad choice of words, but you get the point. It's not like you're going to be thrown on the main roster of WWE. You'll start out in the bay."

"A koi in the bay is easy to overlook too," Adam said. He leaned his head up against the building and raised his face upward, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm up his face. _Gotta get my daily quota of vitamin D_. "I'm good, but I'm good in ROH. WWE is a whole different ballgame. I've seen what it's like to be king of the pond, I don't know if I want to settle for being some bottom feeder, fighting for scraps in the ocean. I-I don't want to be Joey the Jobber."

"That's a risk you have to take," Jay said evenly. "But I don't think you have to worry too much."

"Oh?" Adam turned his head to look at Jay.

"Adam, when you came here, you weren't a koi. You were a damned goldfish. Before that, you were a guppy on the low indie circuit. See? You're not the only one who can make fish references."

Adam laughed, but said nothing, knowing Jay wasn't finished.

"You were a guppy in the low indies, and you trained and worked hard and became a goldfish. And you outgrew that tiny aquarium. So, you came here... and you went from being a little goldfish to a koi. Now you're outgrowing the pond."

"You think so?" While he hoped Jay was being honest, a part of Adam was afraid the man might be feeding him bullshit. Jay wasn't known to be a shit-slinger, but sometimes even the most honest of people would bend truth in order not to hurt feelings.

"I _know_ so," Jay said, his voice clear and ringing with conviction. "You need room. If you stay here forever, you might be the biggest koi in the pond, but you'll _still_ be a koi. You've taken this game as far as it will go. You were a charming face you've become the perfect heel. ROH has nurtured you, cared for you and helped you grow. But here's the problem, you can't grow anymore here."

"But isn't there someplace else in between?" Adam asked, knowing there wasn't. "A large lake or something, I can go to first?"

"TNA is dying," was Jay's reply. "It might have been a lake at one point, but it's a pond again. Maybe a little bit bigger than the ROH pond, but still a pond. You've outgrown the pond, Adam. It's time to swim in the bay. It's time to grow up, become a salmon or a dolphin for awhile, then become a whale."

"I don't know if I could ever be a whale," Adam honestly admitted. "Again, Cena is a whale. Punk was a whale."

"Yes you can," Jay said and again, his voice carried a tone that said he would brook no argument. "You've got the look, you've got the drive, you've got the personality. You can be whatever they need you to be. You just have to believe in yourself and believe in what you can do. You have to be willing to bend to the rules when you have to, and stand up against them when you must. Be a team player, but be willing to stand out from the crowd."

"What if-" Adam paused and swallowed, feeling his throat tighten just a bit. "What if I can't do it?" he said, almost blurting it out. "What if I go there and I find I don't have what it takes. What if the drive, the talent, the ambition, the look isn't enough? What if I flounder?"

"You'll never be a flounder," Jay said, then shook his head. "Damn it, we're spending way too much time talking about fish." He tapped the bottle against his leg quicker now, and harder, making a deeper, louder, noise. "But seriously, if you do, you do. I don't think you will though. But, if you want to play worst case scenario, then you fail and you come back here and they'll probably greet you with open arms. You go back to the life you have now. Yeah, it'll hurt a bit, I mean, you had the ocean and now you're back in the pond, but you'll understand the ocean more and you'll realize the problems the ocean can have and you'll make the best of being back in the pond. But I don't think that'll be the case for you. Not until you're a lot older. Wrestling is not a career for old men especially not being a wrestler in the WWE. There will come a day when you retire from the ring of WWE. Maybe then you'll come back here where the schedule is easier. But I'll bet you'll return as a whale. And by then, who knows? ROH will probably be a lake big enough to hold a whale."

Adam thought about it, and nodded. "Maybe you're right," he finally said, his voice soft.

"Maybe?" Jay looked at him.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you're right," Adam said, grinning.

" _Pretty_ sure?" Jay asked, looking at him with a mock-stern expression.

"Extremely sure?"

"Extremely sure?" Jay repeated.

"Okay, totally sure?" Adam laughed.

"Don't say it like a question," Jay ordered.

"Okay, fine." Adam cleared his throat. "I'm totally sure!"

"That's better," Jay nodded and rose to his feet. "All you've got left to do now is to call and tell them when you can report to Florida. And then tell them here so they can plan the going away party."

Adam rose to his own feet. "You really think this is the right move?"

"Yeah, I do." Jay nodded. "And it's not like you'll be alone."

"I know," Adam agreed. "I'll have friends down there, people I worked with here."

"Yep," Jay nodded, squeezing the bottle now so it was crunching up into a lump of twisted plastic. "Like me."

"Yeah like-" Adam started to say, then stopped and stared. "Are you saying-"

"-I got the call, too," Jay admitted, grinning.

"Holy shit!" Adam whistled long and sharp, shaking his head. "That's great! When are you going?"

"That's the thing," Jay said, looking away from Adam, down the street. "I told them I'd get back to them too, that I had to think about it."

Adam stared, shocked for a moment, as he realized that while Jay had been telling him all the reasons Adam should go, Jay had been dealing with the same issue himself. "You-you talked me into going and you weren't even sure?"

"That's about the size of it," Jay said. "Maybe you weren't the only one who liked being a big old koi in a large pond."

"And now?"

"And now I think two koi ought to go down to NXT and show them that we're ready to become whales."

Adam laughed, suddenly feeling better. It wasn't that he expected him and Lethal would work together much, that wasn't usually the way it worked, but it would be nice having someone there who understood. "So, I guess we make the call ourselves, huh?"

"Yeah," Jay said. "But maybe, first we should go grab some lunch, because I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Adam hadn't eaten breakfast, he hadn't wanted to, he hadn't been hungry. But now that Jay mentioned lunch, his own stomach lurched, telling him that he should have eaten something this morning. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Where do you want to go?"

"Some place with seafood," Jay said, "All this talk about ponds and oceans, has me wanting fish."

 _The end_.

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 **Author's notes : Yeah, this went out of my zone, didn't it? I've been an ROH fan for awhile and I've wanted to do a story about Adam and / or Lethal, but I never really felt I knew the characters well enough. Then, recently I read an article about how the both of them are being considered for NXT and this story came to me.**

 **For those who follow my other stuff? No, I haven't abandoned my other world. I'm still working on the next story where all the families will be involved. This was just a flight of fancy for me, a chance to try messing around with someone other than the WWE stars.**

 **For those who haven't seen ROH? Watch it. And if you can find vids on the 'net that show Adam Cole, watch him too. He plays a whiny, spoiled wrestling brat better than anyone. He's a magnificent douche and to me, he's everything a heel should be. He annoys me, but I love that he annoys me. That's what a heel should be. A heel shouldn't be irritating to the point where I don't want to watch, a heel should annoy me, but still entertain me. And that's what Adam Cole does.**

 **And yes, the remark about CM Punk getting Lethal's leftovers? Yes, he said that. Yes, I laughed my ass off.**

 **I'd love to know what you think of this story. I don't know if I'll do more stories about Adam and/or Lethal, but I might. I kinda like how this one came out. Far from action packed, I know, but I just figure this would be something that would take some thinking about. To go from top of the food chain, down to the bottom again? It has to make you pause. Well, maybe not. Maybe that's just me.**

 **Until Next Time  
Peace Out  
Willow**


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